Julen Lopetegui’s contract to coach Spain was extended but his failure to inform the Team about his transfer to Real Madrid had caused Fernando Hierro to take the job two days before the World Cup.
Spain was in the lead however after only 120 minutes the course of the game changed and Russia took over. Hierro believed that Spain showed eminent performance but that “football is like that”. Despite the unfortunate end, Fernando Hierro would not recommend Spain to change its possession-based style of play. Hierro professed “We have our identity which is because of the type of players we have. We need our personality. Before we started winning titles, people said we have no identity.”
He added, “Like all Spaniards, we had high hopes and dreams and we are sad that we couldn’t do it for the millions of people who were following the game back home,” he said.
“This was just a question of football, of winning and losing. I can safely say that we can all look each other in the eye. The players have been extraordinary for their effort, their professionalism, their solidarity.
“There is a lot of pain in the delegation, the players, the coaching staff, the workers. We had great hopes for this World Cup and it wasn’t to be. But I have no complaints against anybody.
“I’m not an opportunist,” Hierro added.